Think of it as a play and the skaters are the actors: the audience, who are usually far away from the stage (aka. the ice), have to see the performers' faces and in order to do that, the actors have to wear a lot of makeup which up close looks too theatrical but from far away, looks natural.

So when we see the skaters up close during the kiss and cry, we really notice their bright lipstick, red cheeks and tons of mascara and eyeliner.

Which makes us wonder: what do Olympic figure skaters look like without all that competition makeup?